1. Field of the Invention
The invention is applicable to any type of fluid pump which is required to pump fluids containing significant quantities of particulate material having a specific gravity in excess of that of the fluid. This condition occurs in literally hundreds of industrial applications and is often encountered in the circulation of drilling fluids used in the drilling, completion and workover of subterranean wells. The separation of the particulate material from the fluid prior to its entry into the pump is particularly desirable because of the elimination of excessive wear of the pump components.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are, of course, numerous apparatuses available for effecting the removal of particulate material from a fluid. Such prior art apparatuses, however, generally require a separate pump or motor to provide the power required to effect the separation of the particulate. This necessarily requires the provision of additional electric or fluid power sources and appropriate controls for operating the cleaning apparatus as an entity separate from the pump to which the clean fluid is to be supplied. Prior art apparatuses do not contemplate that the fluid energy produced by the pump could be employed to actuate a particulate separator, thus providing a self-powered cleaning unit for the pump.